A Turkish Christmas Party
by Jason Tandro
Summary: A cheap short story I wrote in keeping with the commmercial sentimentality of the holiday season. Short and concise, the way I likes them said the fannovel writer XD . Merry Christmas!


**A Turkish Christmas Party**

by: Jason Tandro

The 66th Floor of the Shinra Building was generally reserved for executives, due to its large conference room that took up the majority of the floor. But tonight was December 24th and the conference room was decorated specially for the Turks and their SIA counterparts. Tonight was the Shinra Intellegence Agency Christmas Party. The main table was covered in a red cloth, and on top of it was every manner of food one could imagine. From haute cuisine, such as stuffed turkey to as a generic junk food as chips and dip. And of course the centerpiece of this was a magnificent ice sculpture shaped like Midgar, which doubled as a punch bowl.

Reno sat in the back, sipping on the punch which he had mixed with his own private stash of liqour. Technically drinking at this party was an offense that he could be written up for, but there were too many people to notice he was drunk as it was his usual demeanor. His closest friend and comrade Rude sat down beside him.

"Enjoying the festivities?" Rude asked.

"Hunting, my friend," Reno explained.

Rude chuckled and decided he would bite. "Hunting?"

"So many lovely SIA Agents. Which one will I end the evening with, I wonder," Reno laughed.

Rude sighed. He knew that one of the women before him would wake up Christmas morning and be terribly upset by his best friend. Reno wasn't exactly the kind of guy who treated women with the respect they deserved. Rude, on the other hand, not only stayed the whole night but cooked them breakfast in the morning. Unfortunately, none of the women he had been with had been interested in anything long-term. It was ironic how his partner and he were complete polar opposites.

"Just try to be a gentlemen. It is Christmas after all," Rude said.

"I am a perfect gentleman," Reno protested. "You think the women I sleep with mean nothing to me?"

"What was the name of the last woman you slept with?" Rude asked.

Reno thought for a moment. "Trick question. I was in a threesome that night. I think one of them was named Veronica."

Rude fell out of his chair with laughter. Despite the fact that this was a moral choice that Rude wouldn't have made, he couldn't deny that it was funny as hell.

Elena looked over her shoulder at the two drunken gits. Her mind reeled at the thought that she did, in fact, work with them. She was a subordinate to Reno, which stung worse. If she was in charge, the Turks would be far more refined and professional and not a bunch of high school children.

Her Christmas morning would be pretty lonely, unfortunately. Nobody to spend the day with, except her boyfriend, Andy, but he was in Junon and the helipad was out of comission on Christmas Day. Maybe she could convince Reno to give her a ride, if she asked real nice. Despite her belief that Reno was a completely unprofessional mysognistic drunkard, he could be unexpectedly nice.

She looked around at her former crew, the SIA Agents. The women wore white jackets and skirts and the men wore brown jackets and dress slacks. Both men and women wore golden sphere pins on their right lapels. They all aspired to be what she had become, a Turk. This would be her first Christmas as a member of the Turks. Something worth celebrating. She didn't want to be alone.

"Say, Reno," Elena asked.

"Yeah?" Reno asked.

"Are you sober enough to fly a chopper?" Elena asked.

"The real question is am I drunk enough not to. What do you need?" Reno asked.

"Um, the helipad pilots have all gone home, and I was hoping on spending Christmas with by boyfriend in Junon, but I can't exactly drive there," Elena explained. "So I was hoping you could maybe fly me there. I mean, I could pay you or something."

Reno laughed. "Please, Elena. It's the Christmas season and we're comrades, there's the only reason I need. I'll meet you up at the helipad in an hour."

"Thank you so much!" Elena bowed slightly. She skipped off and joined the rest of the party-goers.

"That was sweet," Rude smiled.

"Well, what can I say, if I can't do something nice on Christmas Eve, what kind of a guy am I?" Reno asked.

Rude nodded his head. "You were heading to Junon anyways weren't you?"

"Like a book, man," Reno patted his friend on the shoulder. "You coming? It's sure to be one hell of a good time."

Rude nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

The city of Junon was wide awake and in the middle of a massive Christmas Parade. The clock now read 11:55 PM and the crowd was anxiously awaiting Christmas Day. Floats went up and down the main street, Shinra soldiers marched and drilled to the crowds amusement. They ended with a spectacular fireworks show courtesy of the machina on each side of the main cannon. Reno, Rude and Elena sat next to the chopper, watching the show from the airport.

"Best view in town," Reno laughed. "We could be out there like suckers, but here we are sitting in a place that's shut down for the season."

"You always were one to break the rules," came the voice of Tseng.

Reno looked over at the Helipad's last remaining Gelnika. Tseng was dressed proper, the way he always was, but he was also donning a red "Santa" hat. He passed Reno a bottle of vodka.

"Hey, Tseng you're not all anal retentive super-pro on me," Reno chuckled.

"And a Merry Christmas to you to," Tseng laughed. "It's important to keep my people's morale high."

A loud bang erupted over-head as a massive red blossom filled the air. The clock in the center of town began to count down. 60…59….58…

"Well, I guess you want to find your boyfriend then?" Reno asked.

Elena gasped. "Oh, right! I need to find him! See you guys later! Merry Christmas!"

Reno, Rude and Tseng waved as their comrade ran down the airport towards the street. Tseng sat down and opened the bottle. "Well gentlemen, here's to another successful year."

"Yeah, yeah Tseng. Get real," Reno laughed. "Here is to finding the woman of my dreams every night."

Rude chuckled. "Here's to rushing head first where angels fear to tread."

The three men tapped their shot glasses together as the bell struck midnight. A loud cheer came up from the street, and the shouts echoed through all of Junon. Reno felt a small spec on his hand.

"Heh. It's snowing," Reno laughed. "A little too 'Christmas Miracle' for me. I'm going to the nearest bar I can find and drink myself stupid."

"And I'll go with you," Rude announced.

"Same here," Tseng nodded. "Let's move out gentlemen."

Tseng ran ahead, down into the street. Reno turned to Rude and smiled.

"Merry Christmas, man," Reno chuckled running after Tseng. Rude followed a short distance behind him every step along the way.


End file.
